Friday, February 1, 2013

Structure without stricture - A winning strategy for nonprofits

My clients and my blog
(http://cloudlancerwriting.blogspot.com) readers know that I am a proponent of
nonprofits becoming more “business-oriented”. Cloudlancer Writing Services exists because
there are too many small or newer nonprofits on the edge of failure. I firmly believe that to both survive and
succeed in your mission, your organization needs to have some elements of the
business (for-profit) world within your organization. You need simple things like having a plan to
move forward, defined programs that you can easily articulate to supporters and
budgets so that you can assess how much impact the program will have on your
mission. You need boring documents like
contracts and personnel manuals to keep your organization legal and good
financial records to keep the IRS and your donors happy. You need a board that will help your
organization succeed, not just take up space in the board room.

Those things are structural. It’s sort of like building your dream
house. The framework and the foundation keep
the house upright, and allows for intelligent expansion. Still, a house with
just the concrete and 2x4’s in place looks pretty much like every other
house. What will make the house your
home are the things you add to give it personality. When you add color, lovely finishes, a yard
and friends and family, you have a home.

When I tell clients that they need better organizational
structure, some of them feel that approach will mute the message about the
mission. They feel that focusing on “the
bottom line” will prevent them from moving forward. My view of the business side of their
nonprofit feels confining. They feel
strangled by the “rules”. In reality, the structure will support and advance
your mission. It’s a lot easier to go
out and give a passionate speech about your cause, if you are sure the lights
will still be on next month.

On the other hand, if you are so focused on the structural
portion of your dream house that you never get the yard planted, or the walls
painted, you will never live in your dream house.

Get the framework in place, and like the 2 x 4’s in your
walls, you won’t have to think about it much in the future. Yes, you may have to watch for dry
rot(complacency) or make sure you don’t have termites (outside threats), but mostly, you are then free to advocate
confidently for your cause.

Confidence is attractive.
If you feel good about your organization it will be evident to
donors. Desperation is seldom a good public
relations tactic. If you find yourself
constantly asking for money just to survive, people will be fearful about investing
in your cause. On the other hand, if you
can make your appeals all about achieving your mission, you will allow your
donors and grantors to share in that passion and vision with enthusiasm and
commitment.

Structure without strangulation is a winning strategy for
nonprofits. There is a point at which
you can deviate from a strict business model, and you should. Once the structure is supporting your
organization, you can focus on your real goal of achieving your mission.